Ok so now in top of everything else I seem to have an ich problem! All three fish seem to have it! Two of them are in a quarantine tank with aquarium salt in it but I can't put my other fish on that tank and I am worried about putting salt in my main tank because if my algea eaters and the snails! Which is re bet ich medicine you can get to solve this problem! Please help me, I am desperate! Between dead fish, dead rabbit, sick cat, overweight dog and bullying fish this is the last thing I need please any and all help is appreciated!

I have heard Rid-Ich is the best, inexpensive and easy to find. On the downside it will dye your silicone, airline and gravel-vac bright blue. I used it on Michael and the Ich quickly improved...before he died of fin-rot. :/. Can you put your other fish and snails somewhere else? I would definetly find a way to use salt, some cases can be cleared up with salt alone. Good luck.

I can't really move them anywhere I only have the quarantine tank that has salt in, which two of the fish are in! The only problem is a am pushing it with two fish in the quarantine tank plus I am having trouble with bullying with these three fish and the one in her main tank is re problem fish! But I need to address the problem in the main tank aswel!

I don't think the snails will need a filter while in a tub for a short time, Skwishee just changed her snail's water all the time. You'll have to move them, I wouldn't use strong medication on snails either.

We checked the medications before we bought one and the only thing it said it could not be used with are mormyrids, but we have already put the first treatment in! I will keep a close eye on them and we will remove the apple snails before the next course of treatment on Saturday! Can apple snails get White spot or carry it? I know plecs can get it and carry it! I also know where I got the infection from as I went into the pet shop I got my new fish from last week and there was a notice on the tank he was out of had a sign sayin under treatment! My friend asked what they were being treated for and guess what, it was White spot! Which may also explain why Daryl kept bullying him if he was sick!

As everything, snails can carry it as well, yes. Why didn't you just move the snails and plecos to the quarantine tank and treat the main one?Anyway, do you have a heater? It would be a good idea to raise the temp a few degrees, this will speed up the life process of the parasites and they'll die off faster. Otherwise, keep the treatment in for at least two weeks and test the water religiously! A sick fish needs as good water quality as they can get to heal better Best of luck!!

I bought myself a tester kit at the same time as the medication, I dont have a heater but will look into getting one! I didn't put the into the quarantine tank as it had already got salt treatment in it already. Everybody seems to be doing fine keeping a close eye on all of them and will remove the snails asap! Thanks for all the advice.

Cheri; Yes I did keep my snails in a tiny tub, with no filter for around 3 months, but these little guys are bladder snails.They are tough as nails and can live in stagnant or still water. When I did water changes on the tub, I literally tipped the contents out weekly, squashed any eggs and filled it back up. I intend to condition their water now since they've been moved to the 21 litre, as well as adding a bit of calcium every now and then to help out their shells

However, I am not sure such haphazard care as I gave, would be good for apple snails (or any other snails really). This site has handy information; (Link is not visible to guests. Please register to view.)

"Apple snails that are found in the aquarium trade don't make high demands when it comes to water quality: they can live very well in clear, streaming, oxygen-rich water as well in still water, with rotting organic waste, containing almost no oxygen. "

So given that, you'd think they would be okay without a filter, as long as you keep the water clean, snails poo a lot. You should see the state of my 21 litre tank after the snails have been in there one week!

Also keep in mind the temperature;

"At lower temperatures (18°C/65°F) the apple snail enters a dormancy state in which they creep away in the mud and become very inactive. Temperatures below 18°C/65°F should be avoided as the mortality rate quickly increases."

"The amount of water needed for each snail depends on the size of the snail, the filtration capacity and the temperature. As a general rule of thumb one should provide at least 10-liters/2.5 gallon for each mid-sized snail (±5cm/2inch. diameter). Or another way: count each apple snail as a fish of the same length as the snail's shell diameter. "

So if you have a spare tank or large tub somewhere, you should be fine, keep in mind the above is for a permanent home, you could possibly get away with something slightly smaller, if it was temporary.

Anyway, sorry for my slight tangent there, I just really like snails....Good luck Vic Let us know how you get on.

No worries on the tangent it was very interesting! I love snails too! Wanted a snail for ages but always though they were for tropical tanks! I did ask at the pet shop before I was given the treatment and mentioned that I had apple snails and they never said anything! They had them in te tank they were treating so I'm not overly worried at the moment as they are moving around as normal but I will take then out before I add any more treatment as that may prove to much for them to handle and I don't want to risk them!

They really are aren't they! love my guys! They are sat in a bowl at the moment, one wasn't looking to happy but that might have been because of the fish. They kept darting past him last night and I don't think he liked it but I didn't want to risk it being the medicine upsetting him!

Apple snails are sort of sub tropical really, I mean most of our cold water tanks aren't that cold after all. For some cold water species you need a chiller on the tank to keep them healthy

Poor snail, maybe he was a little stressed.

I should get photo's of my little guys, they are so small, that they bob along the water upside down! They also do this very interesting behaviour where instead of climbing to the surface of the water, they just glide up to the surface, almost like their flying through the water. They are so cute to watch when they're doing that

I moved then out of the main tank into a bowl. I cleaned out the other tank and have now but them in that tank with Daryl! They seem ok, a little stressed from all the activity of moving them but they are both moving around happily now. Just got to keep an eye on them!